{"product_id":"a-pure-solar-world-sun-ra-and-the-birth-of-afrofuturism-paperback","title":"A Pure Solar World: Sun Ra and the Birth of Afrofuturism - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003ePaul Youngquist\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSurveying the range of Sun Ra's extraordinary creativity, this book explores how the father of Afrofuturism brought \"space music\" to a planet in need of transformation, supporting the aspirations of black people in an inhospitable white world.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Sun Ra said he came from Saturn. Known on earth for his inventive music and extravagant stage shows, he pioneered free-form improvisation in an ensemble setting with the devoted band he called the \"Arkestra.\" Sun Ra took jazz from the inner city to outer space, infusing traditional swing with far-out harmonies, rhythms, and sounds. Described as the father of Afrofuturism, Sun Ra created \"space music\" as a means of building a better future for American blacks here on earth. \u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eA Pure Solar World: Sun Ra and the Birth of Afrofuturism\u003c\/i\u003e offers a spirited introduction to the life and work of this legendary but underappreciated musician, composer, and poet. Paul Youngquist explores and assesses Sun Ra's wide-ranging creative output--music, public preaching, graphic design, film and stage performance, and poetry--and connects his diverse undertakings to the culture and politics of his times, including the space race, the rise of technocracy, the civil rights movement, and even space-age bachelor-pad music. By thoroughly examining the astro-black mythology that Sun Ra espoused, Youngquist masterfully demonstrates that he offered both a holistic response to a planet desperately in need of new visions and vibrations and a new kind of political activism that used popular culture to advance social change. In a nation obsessed with space and confused about race, Sun Ra aimed not just at assimilation for the socially disfranchised but even more at a wholesale transformation of American society and a more creative, egalitarian world. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003ePaul Youngquist is professor emeritus at the University of Colorado Boulder. He writes on music, popular literature, and Caribbean history. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eCyberfiction: After the Future\u003c\/i\u003e, among other titles.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 372\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.26 x 8.98 x 5.98 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e March 07, 2023\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42170751647879,"sku":"9781477327289","price":47.79,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0601\/2623\/2711\/files\/566596dee79eb2d993d04d9fa0b19173.webp?v=1733350364","url":"https:\/\/booksby.splitshops.com\/products\/a-pure-solar-world-sun-ra-and-the-birth-of-afrofuturism-paperback","provider":"Books by splitShops","version":"1.0","type":"link"}